In between repeat viewings of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, there are a number of great live events going on this weekend. For instance, The Arcs—Dan Auerbach, Leon Michels, Richard Swift, Homer Steinweiss, and Nick Movshon—along with special guests Mariachi Flor de Toloache conclude their inaugural North American tour with a set at the Radio 105-7 Holiday Spectacular at The Tabernacle in Atlanta tonight (poster pictured at right by Methane Studios) and shows at Amos’ Southend in Charlotte, North Carolina, tomorrow, and the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Sunday.

The New York Times, reviewing the band’s show at Terminal 5 last week, described it as a “rock and soul revue that can knock out Motown beats, fuzz-toned boogies or slow-grooving R&B,” adding that they “revved up rockabilly and Bo Diddley beats, and Mr. Auerbach’s voice was perched, not at all precariously, between desperation and defiance.”

The Arcs’ debut album, Yours, Dreamily, has received no shortage of year-end accolades, landing on the Boston Globe’s and Rolling Stone’s lists of the 50 Best Albums of 2015. The album track “Stay in My Corner” is also included among NPR Music’s Favorite Songs of 2015.

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Laurie Anderson presents a special double feature at Cinefamily in Los Angeles on Sunday: she gives only the second-ever performance of her Concert for Dogs, open to any and all pooches with tickets in paw and their human companions, and will lead a Q&A following a screening of her new film, Heart of a Dog.

Heart of a Dog has been nominated for a Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary and landed on the New York Times film critic A.O. Scott’s list of the Best Movies of 2015 and that of New York Magazine’s David Edelstein. Nonesuch released the complete film soundtrack, available now in the Nonesuch Store.

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Timo Andres joins his fellow members of ACME, the American Contemporary Music Ensemble, for a performance at National Sawdust in Brooklyn on Sunday. The concert is the culminating event of the group’s week-long National Sawdust residency, during which group members have worked together to create new music. This Sunday’s concert features new works and works-in-progress presented to the public for the first time. The group returns for another residency at National Sawdust in April.

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The Mark Morris Dance Group's week-long run of The Hard Nut at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)'s Howard Gilman Opera House comes to a close with four final shows this weekend, including a matinee on Saturday. A DVD of the original 1991 performance of The Hard Nut, Morris's modern retelling of The Nutcracker, is available in the Nonesuch Store. (BAM also happens to be showing Star Wars: The Force Awakens this weekend.)

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Brad Mehldau gives the second of two consecutive nights of solo performances at Wigmore Hall in London tonight. The Guardian, in a preview of the Wigmore concerts, calls Mehldau “imaginative and technically awesome,” adding that his “range is dizzying: refashioned Beatles songs, Radiohead and Monk tunes, jazz standards and Brahms intermezzos jostle together.” The Guardian gives four stars to last night's performance, calling it "a powerful, thought-provoking gig."

Nonesuch released Brad Mehldau's 10 Years Solo Live box set in eight-LP, four-CD, and digital editions earlier this fall. The collection is culled from live recordings made over a decade of the pianist's European solo concerts.

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Punch Brothers bring their two-week United States tour to a close with two shows at the Bijou Theatre in Knoxville, Tennessee, tonight and tomorrow, both with special guest Anaïs Mitchell.

The band is up for three Grammy Awards this year: Best Americana Album for their latest album, The Phosphorescent Blues, and Best American Roots Song and Best American Roots Performance for the album track "Julep." That song is also among NPR Music's Favorite Songs of the year. "Set within a complex but easeful arrangement that recalls both jazz and its African origin points," writes Ann Powers, "this view of a good life from heaven shows just how masterful this virtuoso outfit has become."

Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau help close out the year with two duo sets at Bowery Ballroom in New York City on December 28.